Cumberland Co. corrections officer charged in inmate assault

By MATT DUNNmdunn@sjnewsco.comBRIDGETON -- A corrections officer at Cumberland County Jail was charged with official misconduct in May in connection with the beating of an inmate back in February.

Kenderson Woodward, 33, of Cedarville Road in Cedarville, was also charged with assault on an inmate for the purpose of causing bodily injury and making a false entry on a government document, Prosecutor Ron Casella said Thursday.

Woodward allegedly was caught on Feb. 25 by jail surveillance cameras punching an inmate previously identified as 23-year-old John Ramirez of Vineland, according to Casella.

Ramirez was being held at the county jail on $500 bail on a warrant for failing to appear in municipal court.

Casella declined to comment on the nature of the victim's injuries or specifics regarding the incident.

"He was injured," he remarked. "Because of the fact that we charged Woodward, we don't feel (Woodward's actions) were justified."

Casella added that Woodward gave a false report to investigators at the county jail concerning what occurred with Ramirez.

Four out of five corrections officers, including one sergeant, who were the subject of an internal investigation at the jail in connection with the incident have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, according to Casella.

"They responded to a code of an officer down," he said. "They were pulling this inmate away from the scene."

Woodward, who was arrested on May 11, is currently suspended without pay from his post at Cumberland County Jail.

Three days prior to the arrest, Woodward was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The indictable offense was downgraded to municipal court charges of simple assault and improper behavior in July and dismissed in September.

This isn't the only other time Woodward has been on the other side of the law.

In November 2003, two months after being hired at Cumberland County Jail, charges of aggravated assault were filed against Woodward. The charges were downgraded to municipal court charges of attempting to purposely or knowingly cause bodily injury.
Woodward was fined $30.

In January 2002, Woodward was charged with violating a restraining order. The charges were transferred to family court.

Woodward was charged in 2001 with both aggravated assault and terroristic threats. In both cases, the charges were downgraded to municipal court.

Like in the later case, Woodward was fined $30.

It was not clear why the prosecutor's office chose not to release information on Woodward's latest charges in May, given the high-profile nature of the original allegation. Confirmation of the charges came only when the office was asked by the News if charges were ever filed.